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Originally Posted by Joe Bellantoni
Duncan: When I am shooting white birds I make the exposure with a -1 or even a -2 on the exposure compensation...If I don't it will usuall blow out the whites. This is the opposite of what you are saying...When I need detail in the blacks I add + 1 or +2 compensation....
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Hello Joe,
It all depends on the light/dark balance of the whole picture. If you are taking a shot of something small and white against a predominantly darker background then I can fully understand that the whites will get blown out as the camera will try and get the majority of the picture to the "right" exposure. A smaller area of white in the shot will then be overexposed. Likewise for the black objects against a lighter background, the camera will try and set the exposure to get the majority of the shot "right" and the smaller dark area will be underexposed.
The camera has no inherent idea what the "subject" is. Without you telling it, it doesn't know that the small patch of white or black is the bit you are interested in. This can be achieved by spot metering off the subject rather than using evaluative exposure. If you take a spot meter reading directly off the white object it will tend to shift it towards grey.
If you read my paragraph "Scenes that will get it wrong would typically be ......[snip]........ against a bright background (positive compensation needed), or alternatively a light coloured subject against a very dark background (negative compensation needed)", you can see that we are not saying opposites, we are entirely in agreement.
Regards,
Duncan.